KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The UMKC Athletics family is mourning the loss of former UMKC men’s basketball student-athlete Oladapo “Dee” Ayuba, who passed away in Europe where he was playing professional basketball.

“I was deeply saddened to hear of Dee’s passing,” UMKC Director of Athletics Carla Wilson expressed, “He was not only a great player for the Roos, but a great person. I have been receiving communications from former players and Roo supporters who remember his time at UMKC, and the entire UMKC and Kansas City basketball community share in our sorrow. Our hearts go out to his wife, children, parents, and extended family.”

Ayuba, 31, played for the Roos from 2005-07 after transferring to UMKC from Seminole State College. In his time in the Blue and Gold, Ayuba was a Mid-Continent Conference honorable mention and member of the all-newcomer squad in 2006, before being named second-team all-conference in 2007.

In the record books, Ayuba remains in the No. 10 spot all-time in rebounding average (5.9 per game) and defensive rebounding average (3.8 per game).

Upon graduating UMKC with a degree in Business Administration, Ayuba continued his basketball dreams playing overseas for several different clubs and most recently with Djurgarden (Sweden) where he was a two-time Swedish men’s gold medalist. He played five season in Norrköping, where he won two national championships. Ayuba has also represented Plannja, Uppsala and Sweden during his international career.